20 September 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
West Bank: Israeli Forces Kidnap 6 Palestinians, Summon 3 for Interrogation
IMEMC – Israeli forces, early Saturday abducted six Palestinians, including an elderly, from the Hebron and Bethlehem districts of the http://www.imemc.org/newswire/westbank, in addition to summoning three others for interrogation, according to reports by security sources. …
Israeli Settlers and Soldiers Invade Balata Refugee Camp
IMEMC – On the 17th of September, under heavy Israeli army protection, Israeli settlers from nearby illegal settlements entered Nablus with the aim of praying at Joseph’s tomb in Balata refugee camp. …
Egypt Denies Refusal to Hold Reconciliation Talks
IMEMC – The Egyptian government has denied recent media reports which have surfaced in regard to their refusal to host Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo. …
Cabinet Approves $5 Billion Plan for Gaza Reconstruction
IMEMC – The Palestinian cabinet has approved a $5 billion plan for the economic revival and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, in the wake of the recent Israeli assault, according to a senior official. …
Elderly Man Kidnapped In Hebron, Teenager In Bethlehem
IMEMC – Israeli soldiers invaded on Saturday, at dawn, Hebron and Bethlehem, kidnapping an elderly Palestinian man and a teenager, and handing one resident a military warrant for interrogation. …
Palestinian Killed, Two Arrested, By Egyptian Soldiers In Sinai
IMEMC – The Maan News Agency has reported that one Palestinian was killed on Saturday, at dawn, and two were arrested by Egyptian soldiers as they exited a border tunnel in Sinai. …
Egyptian army kills Palestinian, detains 2 as they exit tunnel
9/20/2014 – CAIRO (Ma’an) — Egyptian border police shot dead a Palestinian and detained two others after they exited the opening of a smuggling tunnel in the border town of Rafah on Saturday morning, Egyptian military sources said. Border guard officers reportedly spotted three men walking out of a tunnel opening in area of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier area on the Egyptian side of….
Israeli drone crashes inside Lebanon
9/20/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli drone crashed inside Lebanon on Saturday, reportedly coming down more than a dozen kilometers on the other side of the border.”The drone crashed on the Lebanese border, inside Lebanese territory. Lebanese troops are in the area,” a military source told AFP. A military source told the Lebanese newspaper Daily Star that the plane fell in the Saradah Valley….
Israel-Palestinian ‘solution’ to be put to UN Security Council
9/20/2014 – PARIS (AFP) — A “solution to the conflict” between the Israelis and Palestinians will be put to the UN Security Council, French President Francois Hollande said Friday after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris.” We will have a resolution, to be presented to the Security Council, that will say very clearly what we expect from the (peace) process and what the solution to the conflict….
Officials: Israeli-Palestinian talks to resume in Cairo Wednesday
9/20/2014 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — Indirect talks between Israeli and Palestinian delegations on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will resume on Wednesday in Cairo, Palestinian and Egyptian officials said on Saturday. On Aug. 26, both sides agreed a ceasefire that ended 50 days of deadly conflict in the enclave and provided for a resumption of negotiations within a month to discuss unresolved issues. These include the construction….
Prisoners considering protest against Israeli collective punishment
9/20/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli custody are planning protests against the “collective and tyrannical punishment” neing lobbied by Israeli authorities against them. Palestinian prisoner affairs chief Issa Qaraqe said in a statement on Saturday that the Israeli prison services had launched a campaign of punishment and harassment against Palestinian prisoners over the last two months. The campaign, he said, targeted….
Abbas plans delegation to aid Palestinian shipwreck survivors
9/20/2014 – PARIS (Ma’an) — Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has asked the Palestinian Ministry of Interior to send an official delegation to Italy and Malta to follow up on the deaths of a number of Gazans in a shipwreck earlier this week. Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported on Saturday that the delegation would lobby on the behalf of the survivors in their current host countries…. Related: Ambassador meets Italian official to discuss shipwreck and Syrian migrants in Egypt undeterred by deadly shipwreck off Malta
Ambassador meets Italian official to discuss shipwreck
9/20/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestine’s ambassador to Italy met an Italian official on Saturday to discuss the possibility of providing humanitarian aid to Palestinian survivors of a shipwreck that left nearly 500 migrants dead less than a week ago, the ambassador’s office said in a statement. Ambassador Mai al-Kaila called upon Italy to continue efforts to support Palestinians, especially during times…. Related: Abbas plans delegation to aid Palestinian shipwreck survivors and Syrian migrants in Egypt undeterred by deadly shipwreck off Malta
Palestinians tell of struggle to get to Asian Games
9/20/2014 – INCHEON, South Korea (AFP) — The head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee told Saturday of the “battle” to get to the Asian Games just weeks after a brutal 50-day war in Gaza. Jibril Al Rajoub said that 37 sports officials and journalists had died in the beleaguered strip as a result of the Israeli bombardment. Al Rajoub told AFP that three of the dead were….
PM heads to US for New York conference
9/20/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah left Palestine for the US on Saturday to take part in a conference in New York, a statement said. On the top of the agenda of the Ad Hoc Liason Committee conference will be the reconstruction of Gaza and Israeli violations at Palestinian religious sites in Jerusalem. Hamdallah will meet with several ministers and officials to discuss….
West Bank medical workers suspend strike following agreement
9/20/2014 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — The Union of X-ray Technicians announced the end of a five-day strike following an agreement with the Ministry of Health on Saturday. Member of the union Tareq Mari told Ma’an that the strike was canceled after an agreement that “guarantees most of the technicians’ demands” was signed with the ministry. The five-day strike was focused on demands for….
Cabinet approves $5 billion plan for Gaza rehabilitition
9/20/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian cabinet has recently approved a $5 billion plan for economic revival and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip in the wake of the Israeli assault, a senior official said Saturday.”We will seek to collect international donations in order to materialize our ambitious vision of rebuilding Gaza during the donor countries conference scheduled to be held in Cairo on Oct….
Gaza artist Tayseer Barakat to show in Ramallah gallery
9/20/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A Ramallah gallery will be presenting a number of paintings from Gaza-born artist Tayseer Barakat beginning Saturday. The Zawyeh Gallery said in a statement that “Distant Voices,” an exhibit of 20 new works from the prestigious Palestinian creative, will tackle universal themes in the context of life in Palestine and across the region.”Distant Voices is about our collective experiences as….
Sunni Baghdad neighborhood holds out against IS onslaught
9/20/2014 – DHULUIYAH, Iraq (AFP) — Caught between the Islamic State group’s militants and the Tigris River, residents of one neighborhood in a Sunni town in Iraq have taken up arms alongside security forces and held out for months. If the fighters, police and soldiers defending the Jubur area in Dhuluiyah north of Baghdad repel IS — a Sunni militant group — it would be a powerful symbol….
Turkey reopens border to Syrian Kurds fleeing IS
9/20/2014 – ANKARA (AFP) — Turkey on Friday reopened its border with Syria to Kurds fleeing Islamic State militants, saying a “worst-case scenario” could drive as many as 100,000 more refugees into the country. Groups of visibly exhausted Syrian Kurds, most of them women and children who had fled their homes on foot, were shown on live television crossing into the southeastern Turkish village of Dikmetas, under tight….
Obama to press at UN for broader anti-IS coalition
9/20/2014 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama plans to make his case against the Islamic State militants before the world at the United Nations General Assembly next week in a bid for greater international support in the anti-IS fight.”We won’t hesitate to take action against these terrorists in Iraq or in Syria,” Obama said of the militants who have seized territory in the….
Tunisia president Marzouki declares re-election bid
9/20/2014 – TUNIS (AFP) — Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki announced Saturday he will stand for re-election in November, in a key vote almost four years after a revolt that sparked the Arab Spring uprisings. The polls, along with parliamentary elections in October, are seen as the final step in Tunisia’s transition after more than two decades under strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who was toppled….
Kerry: Iran has ‘role’ in fighting IS militants
9/20/2014 – UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Washington’s foe Iran has a role to play in tackling Islamic State militants who have overrun large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, US Secretary of State John Kerry said. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said this week that his government had rejected a request from the United States for cooperation on the battlefield….
300 Kurds cross from Turkey to Syria to fight IS
9/20/2014 – BEIRUT (AFP) — At least 300 Kurdish fighters crossed from Turkey into Syria overnight to battle militants from the Islamic State group trying to seize a strategic border town, a monitor said Saturday. The reinforcements arrived as Kurdish officials and the Syrian opposition urged the international community to prevent the “ethnic cleansing” of the strategic town of Ain al-Arab, known by the Kurds as Kobane. The….
Syrian migrants in Egypt undeterred by deadly shipwreck off Malta
9/20/2014 – DAMIETTA, Egypt (AFP) — A twist of fate stopped Abu Fahd boarding a doomed migrant boat that sank off Malta with hundreds aboard, but the Syrian and his family are already plotting another perilous voyage. Abu Fahd, his wife and five children were supposed to take a vessel from a beach on the outskirts of Egypt’s Mediterranean city of Damietta but they missed it…. Related: Ambassador meets Italian official to discuss shipwreck
International Solidarity Movement
Israeli settlers and soldiers invade Balata refugee camp
9/20/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – Nablus team, Occupied Palestine – On the 17th of September, under heavy Israeli army protection, Israeli settlers from nearby illegal settlements entered Nablus with the aim of praying at Joseph’s tomb in Balata refugee camp. Just after midnight, the Israeli army closed the district that surrounds the monument, blocking all the streets leading to the tomb and preventing anyone from passing nearby, either by foot….
Lebanon: UNICEF Announces US$ 300,000 to the UNRWA Assistive Devices Programme
Relief Web 19 Sep 2014 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic Beirut The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supporting the UNRWA Assistive Devices Programme in Lebanon with a generous…
Egypt: Bring “Mediterranean mass murderers” to justice – UN Human Rights Chief
Relief Web 19 Sep 2014 – Source: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Country: Egypt, occupied Palestinian territory, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic GENEVA (19 September 2014) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday urged Egypt and other…
UN secretary general asks Iran to release detained National correspondent
The National 20 Sep 2014 – UNITED NATIONS // UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has appealed to Iran to release The National foreign correspondent Yeganeh Salehi and her husband, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian. Mr Ban told Foreign Policy magazine in an interview on Friday that he brought up the case with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif in a closed-door meeting on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. Ms Salehi and her husband were arrested in Tehran on June 22 and are being held, say Iranian authorities, because of “security issues”. – The National staff
Foreign minister reaffirms UAE’s commitment to combating ISIL
The National 20 Sep 2014 – Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Iraq on Friday, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan warned that the US-led counterterrorism campaign must not marginalise Sunni Arabs and needs to guard against external forces with a subversive agenda.
Dozens of Turkish hostages freed
The National 20 Sep 2014 – Circumstances of the release of 49 people held by ISIL in Iraq remain unclear.
Indian Ocean is next Asian flashpoint
The National 20 Sep 2014 – Despite the bonhomie surrounding the Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping summit, the neighbours are quietly vying for maritime dominance.
Renewed Yemen clashes kill at least seven and keep planes grounded
The National 20 Sep 2014 – Mortar rounds slam into homes and a local hospital in the capital Saana, as the death toll rises to 22 civilians and at least 123 fighters.
Security stepped up at Vatican over attack fears
The National 20 Sep 2014 – Intercepted conversation between two Arabic speakers referred to “a demonstrative act, Wednesday’.
After airstrikes, ISIL’s military prowess showing its limits
The National 20 Sep 2014 – ISIL’s military strategy allowed it to capture large parts of Syria and Iraq, but the limits of its power are quickly emerging, writes Taimur Khan.
Australian VC fund to expand into Israel
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Netanyahu offers Interior Ministry to Gilad Erdan, after Gideon Sa’ar quits
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Netanyahu and Lapid finally agree 2015 state budget, averting crisis
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Israeli drone crashes in southern Lebanon
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Three killed by unexploded Israeli bombs in Gaza
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Austria seeks standardized Koran to stem Islamic extremism
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Lady Gaga: There’s a beautiful energy in Tel Aviv
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Israeli official: Talks with Hamas for Gaza truce to resume Tuesday
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
UEFA lifts ban on matches held in Israel
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
8 animal rights milestones in the year 5774: Who’s not created by God, who?
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Large stalactite cave discovered in Israel
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Shofar, so good: ‘The Great Blowout’ aims to shatter Guinness record
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
New Zealand premier wins third term in general election
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
N.Y. mayor blasts anti-Islamic ads on city transit
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Make some room: World population expected to soar
Ha’aretz – 20 Sep 2014
Minister Sa’ar: Poor relations with PM encouraged decision to quit
Ha’aretz – 19 Sep 2014
Netanyahu, Lapid reach deal on 2015 state budget
Ha’aretz – 19 Sep 2014
Paper’s claim that tens of thousands of Israelis fled to Germany draws fire
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – Article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung suggests that the policies of Israel’s government created a refugee crisis with parallels to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany.
Israel, Hamas indirect talks scheduled for Cairo on Tuesday
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – Israel will raise its demand to prevent the rearming of Hamas and the eventual demilitarization of Gaza.
UN Security Council unanimously declares Ebola outbreak ‘threat to international peace’
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor expressed his unequivocal support for sending aid workers and funding to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and said that Israel has already begun deploying NGO workers.
Lapid says he’s ‘close to agreement’ with Netanyahu on state budget
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – “The goal is to submit the budget to the government as soon as possible in order to move forward and improve the Israeli economy and the lot of Israel’s citizens,” Lapid said.
Visit of Jordanian lawmakers to Gaza called off due to ‘security reasons’
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – Egyptian authorities tell group of 12 parliamentarians that the security situation in Sinai bordering Gaza is “very dangerous.”
Hamas to PA: Show us proof that int’l organizations will cease aid if our salaries are not paid
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said recently that donor countries had warned him not to pay salaries to Hamas’ 40,000 civil servants.
Report: Belgium prevented jihadist attacks
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – One in every nine fighters returning home from Syria fighting intends to carry out terrorist attack in Belgium, source says.
Poll: Most who voted Likud want Netanyahu to launch diplomatic drive for Palestinian state
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – According to the survey two-thirds of the public believes that if a final-status agreement is not reached in the coming years, it will lead to a violent confrontation in the region.
Israeli drone crashes in south Lebanon
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – IDF confirms reports which first surfaced in Lebanese media, says will investigate circumstances of crash.
Security & Defense: Israel’s first network-centric war
Jerusalem Post 20 Sep 2014 – In the latest battle with Hamas, the IDF’s C4i Teleprocessing Branch skillfully linked up the air, ground and navy forces to create an unprecedented display of ingenuity.
Video: Israeli soldiers fire tear gas at 6-year-old children on their way to school
Uruknet 20 Sep 2014 – August 28, 2014 – The new school year started four days ago in the occupied West Bank, and Israeli soldiers have fired tear gas and hurled stun grenades at Palestinian elementary school students on at least two occasions already. In…
Bets and masks fall during Gaza s latest saga
Uruknet 20 Sep 2014 – August 28, 2014 -Israel has the right to be proud of it being a demonic destructive state excelling in the annihilation of the human race. Its record in the region is proof that Israel deserves the top prize for a…
Calls to prosecute foreigners who volunteered in Israeli army during war
Uruknet 20 Sep 2014 – August 28, 2014 – Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki announced on Wednesday that his ministry had sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and to the leaders of other countries, requesting them to bear their responsibility for implementing…
Syria News – August 27, 2014
Uruknet 20 Sep 2014 – August 27, 2014- By the end of Wednesday, LCC has documented 34 martyrs including 2 children and 2 martyrs under torture. 9 martyrs were reported in Idlib, 8 in Damascus and its suburbs, 8 in Daraa, 4 in Aleppo, 3…
Woman Killed and 95 Persons Injured by Gunfire That Followed Declaration of Truce
Uruknet 20 Sep 2014 – August 27, 2014 -The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the unjustified intensive shooting by gunmen throughout the Gaza Strip when the true entered into force, which killed a woman and injured 95 persons, including 33 children and 15…
Ali Hamza Al-Bahlul, David Hicks and the Legal Collapse of the Military Commissions at Guantánamo
Uruknet 20 Sep 2014 – August 27, 2014 – Last week, lawyers for former Guantánamo prisoner David Hicks, an Australian who, in March 2007, was the first Guantánamo prisoner to accept a guilty plea in a military commission trial in order to get out of…
Nusra Front claims attack on Hezbollah checkpoint
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 The Nusra Front claimed responsibility late Saturday for an attack that targeted a Hezbollah checkpoint in northeast Lebanon. The militant group said the attack destroyed one 57 millimeter cannon but did not elaborate.
Terrorists seek Sunni-Shiite strife: Hariri
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 Militant groups holding Lebanese soldiers captive are seeking strife between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Saturday.
Lebanon to seek Turkish help with hostage crisis
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouq said Saturday that he would reach out to Turkey for help with securing the release of captured soldiers and policemen.
Al-Qaeda Tunisia offshoot offers backing to ISIS: SITE
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 An Al-Qaeda-linked Tunisian group has offered backing to ISIS that has overrun chunks of Iraq and Syria, becoming the third jihadist group to do so this week, a US-based monitor says.
Yemen flights halted as truce talks end without result
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 Flights to the Yemeni capital are suspended for a second day as the toll mounts from clashes between pro-government forces and rebels after UN efforts to reach a cease-fire ended.
Government throws its weight behind Army
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 Ministers and security chiefs Saturday threw their weight behind the Lebanese Army in its battle against terrorist groups in northeast Lebanon, vowing not to succumb to blackmail or bargaining.
Kurds head to Syria from Turkey to fight ISIS
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 Hundreds of Kurdish fighters have crossed from Turkey into neighboring Syria to defend a Kurdish area under attack by ISIS, activists said Saturday.
Lebanon Army shells militant positions, killing gunmen
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 The Lebanese Army says it killed a large number of gunmen after shelling militant positions on the outskirts of the northeastern region of Arsal.
Yemen TV building on fire as mortars hit capital
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 Yemen’s state-run television building caught fire after a three-day mortar attack by Shiite rebels who are protesting against the government
Jumblatt: Lebanese Army’s terrorism battle requires political backing
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 MP Walid Jumblatt Saturday said the Lebanese Army needed full political backing to carry on its battle against terrorism, during his trip to Hasbaya in south Lebanon.
Disputed Afghan election result to be announced Sunday: official
Daily Star 20 Sep 2014 The result of Afghanistan’s disputed election will be declared on Sunday, officials said Saturday, as last-minute talks between the two rival candidates continued on a proposed power-sharing deal.
Hundreds rally for political resolution to Gaza conflict
YNet News, 20 Sep 2014 – Southern residents protest near Sderot, demand government commit to protecting locals, continue seeking diplomatic solution to situation in Gaza….
Casualties of war
YNet News, 20 Sep 2014 – Gadi Yarkoni believes his beloved kibbutz, like himself, must find a way to move forwards after a mortar attack on the cusp of the Gaza ceasefire claimed the lives of his two friends – and took his legs. ….
Senior Israeli official: Gaza talks to resume Tuesday
YNet News, 20 Sep 2014 – Palestinian, Egyptian officials say negotiations between Israel, Gaza factions will begin in Cairo on Wednesday, as will talks between Fatah, Hamas…..
5 Jewish youths suspected of attacking Arab lawyer
YNet News, 20 Sep 2014 – Attorney Ibrahim Kilani says attackers targeted him because he was an Arab; suspects known to police for previous violent offenses. ….
Syrian opposition activist: Assad is a bigger threat than IS
YNet News, 20 Sep 2014 – Dr. Kamal Al-Labwani criticizes Obama for his inaction on Syria, calls for a no-fly zone over northern and southern Syria and more humanitarian aid. ….
Hitler’s food taster: We cried after every meal
YNet News, 19 Sep 2014 – 96-year-old Margot Woelk, the only one of Hitler’s 15 food tasters to survive the war, tells of the horrifying meals that drove her to tears for fear of tasting poisoned food. ….
Palestinian Information Center
45 Palestinians barred last week from traveling through Karama crossing
PIC – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) prevented during last week 45 Palestinian citizens from travelling to Jordan through Al-Karama crossing,.
An Israeli drone crashes in Lebanon
PIC – An Israeli drone crashed on Saturday morning while flying across the Lebanese borders, an Israeli army spokesman said.
Israeli analyst: Jerusalem is witnessing a mini-uprising
PIC – Israeli analyst Nahum Barnea said that the occupied city of Jerusalem is witnessing a mini-uprising led by Jerusalemite boys who stone settlers’ cars at daily basis, according to his claims.
UN official demands Egypt to cooperate in arresting human traffickers
PIC – The UN human rights chief urged Egypt to join with European states in bringing to justice the human traffickers who recently drowned about 500 migrants in the Mediterranean by ramming their boat.
Nazzal: Cairo officially apologized for not hosting Hamas-Fatah meetings
PIC – Member of Hamas’s political bureau Mohamed Nazzal said that Cairo officially apologized for not hosting further reconciliation meetings between his Movement and Fatah.
A world heritage site is threatened by Israeli separation wall
PIC – The Israeli government is expected to approve on Sunday the construction of a section of the separation wall at the expanse of Battir town after seven years of trials and appeals in Israeli courts.
Abu Marzouk: The fighting may renew if the blockade on Gaza continues
PIC – Member of Hamas’s political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk warned that another round of fighting could be inevitable unless there was an agreement to end the closure of Gaza crossings.
Issawi threatens to resume hunger strike
PIC – Palestinian ex-detainee Samer Issawi has threatened to resume hunger strike in case Israeli authorities refused to release him.
Government Seeks to Collect $4 Billion for Gaza Reconstruction
WAFA – 20 Sep 2014
Four Palestinian Police Officers Conclude Study Trip to Finland
WAFA – 20 Sep 2014
PEX Report: Index Down Again
WAFA – 17 Sep 2014
U.S. Sees Other, More Direct Threats Beyond ISIS
New York Times 20 Sep 2014 – A Syrian group led by a former member of Osama bin Laden’s inner circle is seen as more dangerous than the Islamic State for its potential to launch terror attacks.
Peace Talks With Rebels Falter in Yemen
New York Times 20 Sep 2014 – Fighting in the streets of the Yemeni capital, Sana, continued on Saturday as mediators struggled to reach an agreement between the transitional government and rebels from Shiite-minority clans.
Suspicions Run Deep in Iraq That C.I.A. and the Islamic State Are United
New York Times 20 Sep 2014 – A deputy prime minister publicly blamed the agency for creating the extremist group, and interviews suggested that most of the few thousand people at a demonstration Saturday subscribed to the same theory.
Back and Forth, Wearily, Across the ISIS Border
New York Times 20 Sep 2014 – Over the course of each day, thousands journey between Iraqi Kurdistan and the territory under the control of the extremist militants of the Islamic State.
A Busy Border in Iraqi Kurdistan
New York Times 20 Sep 2014 – Thousands move daily across the 650-mile border that now separates Kurdistan and territory controlled by the Islamic State.
Turkey Welcomes Return of Hostages Held in Iraq
New York Times 20 Sep 2014 – Forty-nine hostages held by Islamic State militants were returned to Turkey on Saturday after what Turkey said was a covert operation led by its intelligence agency.
World Briefing: Yemen: Clashes Unsettle the Capital
New York Times 19 Sep 2014 – Shiite rebels and Sunni militiamen clashed in Sana, the capital, for a second day on Friday in battles that have killed at least 120 people.
Judge Questions Plea Deal With Man Tied to Lethal Qaeda Bombings
New York Times 19 Sep 2014 – In Manhattan federal court, Lewis A. Kaplan noted that Adel Abdul Bary, who passed messages for Osama bin Laden, was initially charged with multiple murder counts.
At U.N., Kerry Thanks Other Nations for Their Support in Fighting Islamic State
New York Times 19 Sep 2014 – In drumming up support in the fight against a terrorist group, the secretary of state suggested that Iran had a role to play.
U.S. Hopes Face-Saving Plan Offers a Path to a Nuclear Pact With Iran
New York Times 19 Sep 2014 – Before the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, negotiators have discussed a plan to remove the pipes that connect Iran’s nuclear centrifuges.
Will the WCC finally break the interfaith ecumenical deal?
Mondoweiss – This is part of Marc H. Ellis’s “Exile and the Prophetic” feature for Mondoweiss. To read the entire series visit the archive page. Since the first Palestinian intifada in 1988, I have argued that the interfaith ecumenical dialogue has become a deal. By deal, I mean…
Gaza and the American awakening
Mondoweiss – The seven week war on Gaza is theoretically over though Israeli forces continue limited incursions into the beleaguered and bombed out strip of coastal land and over 11,000 wounded and 100,000 homeless pick through the rubble of their lives, mourn their dead children, and survive hungry…
Israeli navy shoots 70-year-old Palestinian fisherman on beach
Mondoweiss – Gaza Israeli forces shoot, injure Gaza fisherman [on shore!] GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Israeli naval forces opened fire off the coast of northern Gaza late Wednesday, injuring a Palestinian fisherman on a beach, locals said. Yousef Zayif, 70, was hit by live fire while…
Hamas is just as bad as ISIS and worse than Boko Haram — Israeli government propaganda
Mondoweiss – In late July while Israel’s 50-day offensive Operation Protective Edge was in its final weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-hand man met with a group of journalists in Jerusalem. Tensions were at a peak; the ground invasion had just ended and the air campaign was at…
Yale official barred discussion of Israeli settlements and apartheid at monthly meeting
Mondoweiss – Bruce Shipman, who was forced out of his job as an Episcopal chaplain at Yale for a letter he wrote to the New York Times saying that Gaza was helping to foster anti-Semitism, has responded to the controversy with a clear, strong piece in the Hartford…
Israel’s Hannibal Directive
Sabbah report 20 Sep 2014 – Hannibal’s original mandate and spirit remain. Israeli has no qualms about killing its own. Slaughtering Palestinian civilians is longstanding Israeli policy. The post: Israel’s Hannibal Directive appeared first on Sabbah Report § Sign up for our FREE newsletter §
Blast hits Hezbollah checkpoint
BBC 20 Sep 2014 – A suicide blast has targeted a checkpoint manned by the Shia Hezbollah group in eastern Lebanon, killing three people, state media says.
Pro-Israel Students Hope To Shame Mahmoud Abbas With Empty Seats
The Forward New 20 Sep 2014 – Jewish student groups are planning to protest Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s speech in New York City — including a push to create swaths of empty seats at the event. Click here for the rest of the article…
Yemen agrees truce with Houthis – UN
BBC 20 Sep 2014 – Yemen’s government agrees a truce with Shia Houthi fighters, a UN envoy says, after a week of deadly clashes in the capital Sanaa.
66,000 Syrians ‘flee to Turkey’
BBC 20 Sep 2014 – Turkey says at least 66,000 Syrians have crossed the border in 24 hours, as hundreds of Kurds head the other way to fight Islamic State militants.
Fear of sectarian war grows in Yemen
BBC 20 Sep 2014 – Fears of violence grow even as Yemen rivals seek peace deal
VIDEO: Turkish IS hostages return home
BBC 20 Sep 2014 – Dozens of hostages seized by Islamic State (IS) from the Turkish consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have been freed and are back in Turkey.
Britons detained in Qatar fly home
BBC 20 Sep 2014 – Two Britons detained in Qatar after investigating the treatment of migrant workers there fly back to the UK.
Hamas’ popularity hinges on war and politics
Al-Akhbar News 20 Sep 2014 – Palestinian supporters of the Islamist movement Hamas wave national and Hamas flags during a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah on August 30, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Abbas Momani) Palestinian supporters of the Islamist movement Hamas wave national and Hamas flags during a rally in the…
Lebanese soldier’s father denies Nusra killed son
Al-Akhbar News 20 Sep 2014 – A Nusra Front commander on Saturday confirmed that the al-Qaeda affiliate had executed Lebanese soldier Mohammed Hamieh, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported, a claim denied by the soldier’s father who insisted that his son was “in good health.” Maarouf Hamieh told reporters from his home village…
Hundreds trapped inside Yemen TV station amid Sanaa fighting
Al-Akhbar News 20 Sep 2014 – Yemen’s state-run television building caught fire after a three-day mortar attack by rebels who are protesting against the government, residents and a TV employee said on Saturday. After weeks of protests and clashes, the conflict intensified on Thursday when the Houthi rebels clashed with the army…
Israeli spy drone crashes into Lebanon
Al-Akhbar News 20 Sep 2014 – An Israeli spy drone crashed inside Lebanon on Saturday, the Lebanese army and state media reported. The National News Agency said the remote control plane went down in the Marjayoun district of southeastern Lebanon due to a mechanical malfunction. It is now being inspected at an…
Yemeni president accuses Houthis of coup attempt
Al-Akhbar News 20 Sep 2014 – Yemeni security forces supporting Houthi anti-government protesters gesture during a funeral procession and an anti-government protest in Sanaa on September 12, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Mohammed Huwais) Yemeni security forces supporting Houthi anti-government protesters gesture during a funeral procession and an anti-government protest in Sanaa on September 12,…
Turkish intelligence “rescues” the 49 hostages abducted in northern Iraq
Al-Akhbar News 20 Sep 2014 – Turkish intelligence agents brought 49 hostages seized by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants in northern Iraq back to Turkey on Saturday after more than three months in captivity, in what President Tayyip Erdogan described as a covert rescue operation. The hostages, including Turkey’s consul-general,…
Turkey says 45,000 Syrian Kurds cross border to flee ISIS onslaught
Al-Akhbar News 20 Sep 2014 – Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds have crossed into Turkey over the past day, fleeing an advance by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria whose fighters have seized dozens of villages close to the border, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Saturday. Turkey…
Anti-Semitic attacks in Bolivia: usual confusion
New Jewish Resistance 20 Sep 2014 – A blast at a Jewish cemetery in Bolivia follows attacks on a synagogue. Jewish commentary on the attacks emphasizes Evo Morales’ protests of the Gaza bombardment. read more
Lebanon: New armed group exploits sectarian incitement in Tripoli
Al-Akhbar Politics 19 Sep 2014 – Chadi al-Mawlawi, one of Tripoli’s most infamous Islamist figures. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) Chadi al-Mawlawi, one of Tripoli’s most infamous Islamist figures. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) The news of Osama Mansour and Chadi al-Mawlawi forming a militant group in Tripoli took the city by storm, and is now…
Can Turkey set up buffer zone inside Syria?
Al-Monitor 19 Sep 2014 – The idea of a buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border has been revived again, but faces serious feasibility questions.
Tribal leader refuses Arab, foreign intervention in Libya
Al-Monitor 19 Sep 2014 – Ezz El-Arab Abu al-Qasim, member of the Supreme Council for the Libyan Tribes, talks to Azzaman about the role of the tribes in the fight against militias, while rejecting any foreign intervention in Libya’s domestic affairs.
Articles
US Guilty of War Crimes in Palestine
Sam Bahour, CounterPunch 9/19/2014
Aiding and Abetting the Slaughter of Civilians
The U.S. is not a neutral mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; it is an active participant and is guilty of the crimes being committed by Israel against Palestinians, most recently, the mass killings and destruction Israel wrought on the Gaza Strip during the summer. The reality that the U.S. is an active supporter of unimaginable suffering may very well be the motivating force behind the U.S.’s adamant attempts to block the Palestinians from using any of the internationally recognized tools of accountability to hold Israel responsible, such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. When an indigenous, stateless population is blocked access to opportunities for justice by superpowers like the U.S., something is wrong—deadly wrong.
While Israeli bombs were hammering Gaza, Alice Lynd with the assistance of Staughton Lynd, drafted a 32-page pamphlet which was published by the Palestine-Israel Working Group of Historians Against the War (HAW) titled, Violations by Israel and the Problem of Enforcement (August 2014). The policy paper places the U.S. in front of its own mirror and meticulously documents how one hand of the U.S. government systematically documents Israeli violations of U.S. law and international law, while the other hand unconditionally dishes out financial, military, and diplomatic support to Israel.
The study notes that “United States law states that no military assistance will be provided to a government that engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. Yet the United States gives more military assistance to Israel than to any other country, currently in excess of $3.1 billion per year. The U.S. participates in joint military exercises, military research, and weapons development.”
This contradiction of its own policy would seem incriminating enough, but if all the other means of U.S. support to Israel are added….the evidence that the more.. e-mail
Donors will fail Gaza again
Nicola Nasser, Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) 9/19/2014
On 12 October, Cairo is due to host a conference, sponsored and chaired by Egypt and Norway, of international and Arab donors for the reconstruction of Gaza. This is their ostensible aim. But the reasons that the donors cited for not fulfilling earlier pledges, made in Paris in 2007 and Sharm El-Sheikh in 2009, still exist.
This means that the donors who attend the upcoming Cairo conference will probably make the same pledges they made at the two previous conferences and then once again fail to fulfil them.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian people under blockade in Gaza will remain in suspense, waiting for the next aggression to be unleashed on them by the Israeli occupation, purportedly in order to eliminate the causes that the donors cite for recycling their pledges for the reconstruction of Gaza that is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.
Fulfilment of the donors’ old/new pledges is still contingent politically on the imposition of the status quo in the West Bank on Gaza. This entails security coordination with the occupying power, the pursuit and elimination of all forms of resistance to the occupation, rendering all reconstruction activities subject to the approval of the Israeli security regime, and much more.
Even should these conditions be met, the donors’ fulfilment of their pledges will remain contingent on the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) continued commitment to negotiations as its sole strategy, and to the agreements that led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
All the evidence indicates that the PLO and the PA have spearheaded the battle to impose the donors’ conditions on their behalf. Beneath the rubric of “legitimacy”, “the national project” and “the single central authority” that “alone holds the powers to make decisions on war and peace,” the PLO and PA have demonstrated that they are ready to abide by the donors’ political conditions. more.. e-mail
Palestine, the US and ‘Democracy’
Bob Fantina, CounterPunch 9/19/2014
Hypocrisy in the Middle East
Now that the dust has settled on the mutilated bodies of Palestinian men, women and children, the world seems able to ignore the desperate plight of those that survived. Apartheid Israel has accomplished its periodic ‘mowing of the grass’, the leveling of Gaza’s infrastructure, the destruction of schools, hospitals and mosques, and the killing of over 2,000 innocent, unarmed and defenseless Palestinians. Business for Israel now continue
s as usual, with IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) terrorists focusing their murders on innocent Palestinians in the West Bank. There, with complete impunity, they bulldoze homes, shoot unarmed teenagers, arrest and detain children, establish arbitrary checkpoints and steal land, all in violation of international law, law the international community doesn’t seem particularly interested in enforcing.
This is not meant to imply that Israel is ignoring Gaza. No, in violation of the cease-fire agreement, an agreement that apparently only the Palestinians have to abide by, IDF terrorists shoot Palestinian fishermen fishing within the very limited zone that Israel, again in violation of international law, permits them.
Not all countries of the world seem oblivious to Palestinian suffering. Cuba, Venezuela and Turkey have all sent aid to assist people deprived of food, water and shelter. But the U.S., which traditionally showers all kinds of aid on countries that do its bidding, but ignores or terrorizes those, such as Palestine, that don’t, has not responded.
A recent quotation by U.S. President Barack Obama is interesting: “… we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of people affected, with profound economic, political and security implications for all of us.” This seems to fit the situation in Palestine. At least hundreds of thousands, and, realistically, millions of people have been affected by Israel’s most recent genocidal activities, and the continued financial aid to that apartheid, racist nation has ‘economic, political and s more.. e-mail
Eyes of A Thief – Film reflecting Palestinian humanity
Daoud Kuttab, Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) 9/18/2014
The 700-seat Ramallah Cultural Palace, on whose premises is the grave of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, was overcrowded on September 9. Over 850 people packed the cinema hall to watch Najwa Najjar’s premiere of her second long feature film, “The eyes of the thief”. The Palestinian filmmaker’s film follows her successful “Pomegranates and Myrrh”, which opened the Dubai Film Festival in 2008 and has racked up a huge number of awards. The name of the film (in Arabic Ein al haramieh) refers to a rather desolate location on the valley between Nablus and Ramallah. The location used to witness robberies, which made the British mandatory government build a police station to protect travellers. The British barracks that still stand in the area have long been abandoned, but the Israelis used the location to set up a permanent checkpoint. In 2002, at the height of the second Intifada, a lone Palestinian sniper gunned down 11 Israeli soldiers. Israeli experts at one time thought the sniper might be an older Palestinian who had participated in World War II, or a fighter from the Balkans who infiltrated the occupied territories. The Israelis eventually arrested and convicted 22-year-old Taher Hamad, a member of Fateh’s Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, who said he picked up the shooting skills from his grandfather who was a hunter. more.. e-mail
Inside out: three poems on Gaza by Zeina Hashem Beck
Electronic Intifada: 20 Sep 2014 – Poems “Inside out,” “Gaza mothers soothe their kids,” and “Maysam.” more..
raining mortars and missiles on Damascus
In Gaza: 20 Sep 2014 – **thanks be to truth-telling Carlos Latuff, who hasn’t forsaken principles in this actual and media war on Syria. Sana reports : “Two women were killed and another four injured due to attacks with mortar shells that terrorists launched on al-Qassaa’ area in Damascus. A source at the Police Command told SANA that five mortar shells launched by terrorists struck al-Qassaa’ area in Damascus, killing two women and wounding another four civilians. The attacks caused material damage to the roof of Zaitonet al-Sham Hotel, al-Mansour School, as well as several houses, shops and cars in the area.” From all account by friends in Damascus and the FB page “A Mortar’s Diary”, the terrorists continue to target civilian areas, particularly (today) the Old City… Updates from “ A Mortar’s Diary “ **ordered as most recently-updated. internet-translated (Note: translating colloquial Arabic via internet translation does result in some bizarre words. In these cases, I’ve…more
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The New Dark Age 